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It was only a short while ago that Carlos Newton was the only Canadian to have fought for a UFC title but with Georges St Pierre fighting for the Welterweight title and Patrick Cote fighting in the main event of a single UFC it seems that times they are a changing. Any way you cut it Canadian MMA has come a long way and it is only going to get bigger and better and UFC 50 "The war of 04" proved that.The ball continues to roll and It seems much is happening in the great white north so lets get caught up on all things Canadian MMA. -Arnold Lim-
It was only a short while ago that Carlos Newton was the only Canadian to have fought for a UFC title but with Georges St Pierre fighting for the Welterweight title and Patrick Cote fighting in the main event of a single UFC it seems that times they are a changing. Any way you cut it Canadian MMA has come a long way and it is only going to get bigger and better and UFC 50 "The war of 04" proved that.The ball continues to roll and It seems much is happening in the great white north so lets get caught up on all things Canadian MMA. -Arnold Lim- TKO News and notes
There is good news and there is bad news. First off the bad news is that TKO will not be holding its Nov 6 show in Sherbrooke as originally planned, so their hopes of holding two events in the same month, but in different cities will not be a reality this time around. The word from TKO president Stephane Patry is that the mayor of Sherbrooke passed a law not allowing a venue that sells liquor to hold more then 500 people, and that stifled the plans of TKO going to Sherbrooke. The Good news is that most of the fights that were to take place on the Nov 6 card will be transplanted into the TKO 18 card that will take place on Nov 26 instead, there will be a few adjustments, but rumor has it almost all the fighters scheduled to fight on the 6th, will be fighting on the 26th. Most of the high profile fights that were set to take place at the 26th for the “Unification” show have been pushed back to sometime tentatively in January. So there will be a TKO 18 “Impact” it just wont be on the 6th, instead it will be on the 26th which was originally set to be the date of the TKO 19 “Unification” show that was to take place on November 26th. Confusing? Certainly, but the upcoming TKO 19 “Unification” show in January looks to be stellar and the rumored names are interesting to say the least. The tentative TKO 18 “Impact” card is as follows, and includes the return of old school UFC veteran "Dangerous" Dave Beneteau. 15 fights make up TKO 18, Card is subject to change. Donald Ouimet vs. Steve Duquette – Lightweight Championship
David Loiseau vs. TBA – Middleweight Championship
Stephane Vigneault vs. Shane Rice –Super lightweight Championship
Todd Gouwenberg vs. Jacob Conliffe – Heavyweight Championship
Curtis Stout vs. TBA
Sam Stout vs. David Goulet
Phillipe Lagace vs. Ryan Diaz
John Alessio vs. Jonathan Goulet
Dave Beneteau vs. Icho Larenas Prelims
John Fraser vs. Thierry Quenneville
Martin Tremblay vs. Serge Lafond
David Parizeau vs. Sonny Leong
Alex Gasson vs. Antoine Coutu
Mike Turner vs. Dirk Waardenberg
Martin Grandmont vs. Steve Legeault XFC
The XFC 3 show was an entertaining one but the next XFC won’t be until October of next year, so MMA fans in Prince George will have to wait until next year for their next MMA fix. On a positive note MMARR’s own “Sushiboy” Arnold Lim has sold his story along with his photo’s of the XFC 3 event to a prominent Magazine in Japan and we will see coverage and photo’s of XFC 3 as well as TKO 17 in an upcoming issue of Kakutougi Tsushin, which is one of the top MMA magazines in Japan. Bill Mahood and the boys may put on a small card sometime in the spring but that is still up in the air at this point. For a full review and photo’s of the XFC 3 event click HERE…. WFF - Shooto
The Shooto sanctioned WFF is rumored to be doing their next show sometime in December but promoter Jason Towns tells us the venue site is still in the works at this point. One thing that is certain is that this show will NOT be in Vancouver and will be in the Okanogan. The venue site will be released in the coming days but the lineup of fighters slated for the card is shaping up quite nicely. UFC veteran and 145 pound standout Ivan Menjivar will be competing on the card along with other Canadian standouts such as Antonio Carvalho, Bob Shabaga, Chris Fontaine, Mike Adams, Max Marin, and more. American standouts include Team Oyama competitor Bao Quach, formerly of Chirs Brennan’s Team Next Generation, Antonio Banuelos of Chuck Liddell and John Hacklemans’s Team Pit, and John Parker Fitch. It looks like the card is going to be a strong one and could very well be the best WFF in their short history. Ultimate Cage Wars
The Ultimate Cage Wars has come and gone and despite a few hiccups it seems an MMA organization in Winnipeg Canada has been born. UCW was the first MMA show in Winnipeg and the first event in recent memory that used an octagonal cage in Canada. An MMA organization in Manitoba has been sadly lacking until now but it looks like fighter and promoter Krzysztof Soszynski who not only promoted the event, but also main evented it winning by early KO, will fill the void nicely. The full results of their first event are as follows. Kevin Vanzze def Marc Andre Drole via ref stoppage (Knees)
Jeff Sutherland def Tim Tamaki via decission
Ryan Espey def Dave Capar via ref stopage(Strikes)
James Fuller def Josh Tomik via ko
Kevin Manderson def Jason Vay via ref stopage (Strikes from mount)
Deric Perez def Jerich Monton via KO
Serge "and Destroy" Rochon def Gran Tannant via corner stoppage
Justin "Houdini" taverninni def Joy Millan via ref stoppage (knees)
Curt "Muscle Beach" Mickinnon def Brad Calder via decision
Krzysztof Soszynski def Chris Thiel via KO Reportedly 2300 paying customers packed the Winnipeg convention center for the inaugural Ultimate Cage Wars. UFC veteran and cult favorite the one and only Fred Ettish was the refferee of the event! The next UCW is rumored to be set for February 12th, 2005. A quick chat with Rodrigo Munduruca revealed that he may be returning to active MMA competition in the next edition of the Ultimate Cage Wars show along with fellow training partner Chris Fontaine so the UCW 2 should be much bigger then their first show and looks to have a bright future. Gibson Pankration
Lance Gibson is in Seattle, Washington, hard at work on a horror movie as a stunt co-ordinator. Much is on the table for team Gibson with Ryan Diaz taking on Patrick Cote’s Jiu Jitsu coach Phillipe Lagace and with Todd Gouwenberg fighting for the TKO heavyweight championship against Jacob Conliffe at TKO 18. Black Fredrickson is also rumored to be on the same TKO card against an un-named opponent as well as the MFC Euphoria lightweight tournament that takes place in December in Atlantic City. Team Tompkins
TKO will finally be crowning a heavyweight champion, and Jacob "The Destroyer" Conliffe is preparing for his upcoming TKO Heavyweight title bout against Gibson Pankration product Todd Gouwenberg. Rob MacDonald was originally set to face Gouwenberg but has dropped out and his teammate will take his place. Alex “Pecker” Gasson recently took home the K.I.C.K. North American Pro-Kickboxing title in Grand Rapids Michigan. Gasson fought a 9 round contest with Aaron Lassi of Minnesota and took the split decision victory back to Canada. November 13th could see 5 Team Tompkins members heading to Milwaukee Wisconsin to compete in the K-1 sanctioned “Heavyweight Gladiators”. Promoted by K-1 star Duke Roufus, Team Thomkins fighter Jacob "the Destroyer" Conliffe will be entering the 8 man tournament that will also feature Travis Fultan (IFC Champion), Scott Lightey who is a Chuck Liddell student and K-1 fighter, and Andre who trains with Duane “Bang” Ludwig. CBC is also filming an episode of the show "The Nerve" at Team Tompkins headquarters, which will be airing Feb 2005. "The Nerve" will be focusing on Canadian MMA standout and former TKO SLW champion Mark "The Machine" Hominick and Sam "Hands of Stone" Stout. The show is a 13 episode series focusing on "extreme" sports and the athletes that participate in them. Patrick Cote making the CUT to 185 pounds?
The man who recently took Tito Ortiz to a decision and made a good account of himself in the main event of the UFC in his first UFC bout is contemplating the move to the 185 pound division. There are a plethora of options for him at 185 and if he made the drop, for the first time size will not be an issue for Cote, who has always been on the smallish side when competing in the 205 pound division. The size difference was never more apparent then when he faced Tito Ortiz in the main event of UFC 50 where Ortiz almost looked to be in a different weight class when they met in the octagon. Apex
The next Apex show will not be in 2004 but early in the first few months of 2005. Rumors of their demise have been greatly exaggerated and although the attendance could have been better they are concentrating on improving every show and are hoping build on the foundation of the first show. Rumored to be back aboard are Ivan Menjivar, Ryan Shultz and more of the winners of the first show. Back on board behind the scenes will be “Showdown” Joe Ferraro, J.T McCarthy who recently made another appearance on Canada’s biggest talkshow, “Off the record with Micheal Lansberg”, and of course the dynamic duo of Frank Trigg and “The Fight Professor” Stephan Quadros. Epic MMA
One of the busiest MMA management teams in Canada has added more to what is already a stacked lineup of MMA competitors. It looks like Fabio Holanda who is fresh off a huge victory over Kultar Gill at the TKO show that took place last September is close be becoming a member of the Epic MMA team. It seems like every time you turn around Greg Allen adds another budding MMA personality to the mix. Last month it was Antonio Carvalho and Justin Bruckman and this time it is Fabio Holanda, who could be next? Denis Kang is scheduled to compete in Grapplers Quest in Las Vegas on November 6th, but his next MMA opponent will be none other then UFC and Pride veteran Amar Suloev. This could be an explosive bout in Moscow, Russia in the M1 promotion on December 4th, and will take place in the same event that Ullisses Castro will fight in the M1 Heavyweight tournament. This fight will be the biggest MMA challenge of Kang’s MMA career but after a great showing against Suloev’s training partner Andrei Seminov, it should be a good test of both competitor’s skills. Still on the Denis Kang front, he has secured a role in the upcoming sequel to Jean Claude Van Damme’s blockbuster “Bloodsport”. Van Damme has given Kang a role as the Thai Kickboxer “Ponchak the Ax”. He will start training with Van Damme and the stunt co-ordinators in mid November in preparation for his role. His next fight in Korea will again be for the Spirit MC organization in early February but as of yet not opponent has come about. Ulisses Castro, coming off a disappointing disqualification loss to Kerry Schall could be headed back to the Euphoria as an alternate for the same Heavyweight tournament. Greg Allen tells us their are rumors that the second round of the tournament could be pushed back to sometime in January so that is a posibility for Mr. Castro. Before that takes place however he is scheduled to fight in a one day tournament in Moscow’s M1 organization. There could be an interesting tournament that could culminate in a very interesting rubber match possibility. Both Jason MacDonald and Bill Mahood will be entering the Euphoria Light Heavyweight tournament in Atlantic City on Dec 11th. They will be set at opposite sides of the brackets but it is likely that one of them will have to face Jeremy Horn in the second round of the tournament. The Euphoria events are quickly shaping up to be very exciting events and the possibility of these two fighting each other for the third time in the rubber match is a real one, even though they currently train together and fight on the same Management team. Each fighter holds one win over the other. Kyle Sandford has been silent on the MMA front but the word is that he is recovering nicely from knee surgury, and should make his return sometime in the new year. He got married recently and should be healed up enough to make more noise on the 185 pound scene in 2005. Shane Rice is currently scheduled to make his first TKO SLW title defense vs. Stephane Vigneault in Montreal on Nov 26th in a rematch of their bout that saw Rice lose via decision in a two round fight. His proposed bout with Ryan Ackerman in the Ironheart Crown show will be put on hold until a future date. Justin Bruckman will fighting Yoichi Fukomoto in Shooto on Nov 12th in Tokyo. Greg Allen had this to say about his own busy schedule, “Obviously very busy keeping all of these guys organized and busy.... almost enough work to constitute a full time job. Also just returned from New Jersey where I directed and produced the Euphoria MFC show.... very exciting.... I had a crew of 14, 5 cameras.... tons of tech equipment.... a total blast. Heading back to New York this week to finish post production on the Euphoria DVD. Currently working as the Euphoria Creative and Technical Director/Producer.... Having an incredible amount of fun with this project. Working with Miguel Itturate, Jeff Osbourne, Bruce Buffer, Joseph Cunliffe.... very exciting and rewarding experience. Also just been offered a tech contract with Van Damme on "Kumite". On top of all of this, I’m currently in development with my MMA documentary and an MMA action script with studios based in Los Angeles and London, England..... Busy, Busy, Busy...... :) “ It looks like Epic is well on its way with a strong team of fighter that seems to get stronger by the day. MMA Ring Report Fighter of the night.
MMA Ring Report recently handed out the forth edition of the “MMARR Fighter of the Night” award at XFC 3 in Prince George British Columbia and this time it went to Team Quest fighter Matt Horwitch, who defeated Jason MacDonald by Armbar early in the first round. Congratulations to Matt Horwitch who had his work cut out for him early but capitalized on a tactical error and won in impressive fashion. The next award will be awarded at the TKO 18 “Impact” event that will take place on Nov 26thh. If your event is looking to getting involved in awarding the MMA Ring Report fighter of the night award contact us HERE…. The rundown of winners of the MMARR fighter of the night award is as follows. 1 – Justin Bruckman - WFF 7 - July 23rd, 2004
2 – Patrick Cote - TKO 16 - May 22nd, 2004
3 – Sam Stout - TKO 17 - Sept 25th, 2004
4 – Matt Horwitch – XFC 3 Oct 16th, 2004
5 - ??? – TKO 18 - Nov 26th, 2004
6 - ??? International Coverage for Canadians
International Coverage of the Canadian events has been few and far between but it appears that is slowly changing. The “Sushiboy” Arnold Lim is now contributing to “Kakutougi Tsushin”, which is one of the most prominent, if not the most prominent, MMA magazine in Japan. First his photo’s and coverage of WFF 7 was seen it’s pages a few months back, and now stories and photo’s for XFC 3 and TKO 17 have already been picked up for the upcoming issue that will hit news stands in Japan this month. Upcoming Canadian events have already been picked up for subsequent issues, hopefully this is a sign that Canadian MMA is headed in the right direction and we will see press from all over the world come to cover Canadian events in the near future. Evolution / Shut up and Fight
It appears that Evolution/ Shut up and Fight is taking the necessary steps in order to form a commission. The athletics Commission bylaw has been drafted and they are currently looking for a doctor. When they find a suitable doctor the bylaw proposal goes to the city council, if all goes well it would then take an additional 3, or more, meetings to be implemented. The process of forming a commission is at times a painfully slow one, but it does appear that the wheels are in motion and things are moving forward in Vernon. The newest member of the Evolution / Shut up and Fight team, Mui Thai Instructor Jeff Ford will also permanently situated in Vernon as of the 12th of November, 2004. Upcoming Canadian events November 26th - TKO 18 "Impact" Montreal, Pierre Charbanneau Centre
Dec – WFF 9 B.C
Feb 12 - Ultimate Cage Wars - Winnipeg, Manitoba
2005 - Apex 2
2005 - TKO 19 "Unification" So that wraps up another Canadian Corner and you are up to date on the Canadian front. If you have any Canadian news that you would like to let us know about email the Sushiboy HERE… Many more exciting things are scheduled to happen in the coming months, in and around the sport of MMA around the world. There is no doubt that Canada will surely be in the mix, until then this was “The Sushiboy” with the Canadian Corner. -MMARR-
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